Tag: equestrian

Precious Spines – Keeping your horse’s musculoskeletal system fit

I recently asked my horse’s chiropractor, Heather Beaudry, if I could interview her for a blog post and she readily agreed. The conversation did not go at all as I expected. I figured it would focus on how a chiropractor can help a horse and, though informative, would be pretty dry. Well, it was not…



The Power of the Mind

When I am mountain biking and come to a big obstacle or steep hill, if I say to myself “I can do it, I can do it” I will almost always make it through. If I allow even a glimmer of doubt to enter my mind, I will invariably fail. Such is the power of…



Awesome trail ride – a hunter pace

Even if you have no interest in fox hunting, I recommend you find out if there is a hunter pace in your area. A hunter pace is, for all intents and purposes, an awesome trail ride that is open to everyone. You don’t have to be a member of a hunt club, you can ride…



What, Me Worry?

Yes, in fact, I do worry. You could call me a worrywart, stressmonkey, doomsdayer, worst case scenario thinker, and pessimist. I am rather like Aunt Josephine in the movie Lemony Snicket’s  A Series of Unfortunate Events:   Having a horse is probably not a good idea for me, because there are an infinite number of…



Trail riding during hunting season

Autumn in New England is perhaps the best time to trail ride. The days are cooler, the foliage is amazing, and our horses are usually in good fitness. It’s also the time of year when hunters take to the woods, and surely they enjoy it as much as we do. We need to share the…



Changing horses

I have ridden quite a few different horses in my life. It’s not because I am a professional rider or even a competitive amateur. Quite the opposite. For most of my life I have depended on the kindness of friends (and even strangers) who let me ride their horses. I’ve also moved around a lot…



Precious Hooves – Shoeing for the Trail

Is your horse barefoot? Have two shoes? Four shoes? What is the best shoeing strategy for trail riding? I recently had the opportunity to spend a day with my farrier, Jen Poulin, and interview her about farriery (yes, that is a word) for the trail horse. She gave me a lot of great information which…



Outfitting a Horse Trailer

I am an organization geek so when I recently bought my first horse trailer, I spent a lot of time outfitting it so that the horses would be comfortable and our gear would be easily accessible without the tack room being a jumbled pile of stuff. I thought that I would share what I did…



From Competitor to Trail Rider

When I was younger, I competed quite a bit – whether it was 4H shows, dressage competitions, jumping, or eventing. It always seemed like that was just what you did in the horse world. Come to find out, there are other super fun things you can do with horses that don’t involve competition. While I still…



Speed

I know people who only walk their horses when trail riding. For some, it is because the rugged terrain where they live – such as in the Rocky Mountains – precludes faster gaits; for others, the rider has a medical condition that requires her to avoid being jostled around; and some just prefer to enjoy…